Eating disorder behaviors and attitudes in Japanese adolescent girls and boys in high schools

Abstract

To investigate eating disorder behaviors and attitudes in adolescents, we administered the eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q) to Japanese adolescent girls and boys. The EDE-Q global scores in Japanese girls and boys, respectively, were significantly lower than those in girls and boys in previous studies. Objective binge eating episodes and extreme dietary restriction were the common behaviors, whereas self-induced vomiting and the misuse of laxatives were uncommon. Differences in the EDE-Q data between Japanese adolescents and adolescents in previous studies from Western countries suggest that there may be certain cultural differences in eating disorder psychopathology in adolescents.